7 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family

What Christian parent doesn’t wish there was a guaranteed formula to raise Godly children? Many parents are longing for a formula in which to input their offspring so that children who will love and respect the Lord will come out. However, as most parents understand, raising Godly children cannot be reduced to a formula, but requires a great amount of wisdom gathered from biblical principles. When parents see their role through the lens of God’s grace, they will see that the Gospel must first shape how they parent before they can effectively shape their children. Are you looking for more biblical perspective on parenting and ways to raise your child according to God’s plan? Here are seven Gospel principles that will radically change your family.

Calling

A great way to understand your parental calling is through this principle: Nothing is more important in your life than being one of God’s tools to form a human soul. It is one of the most significant callings that could ever be laid in the lap of a human being. A great passage to reflect on when considering your calling as a parent is Matthew 6:19-34 which deals with our treasures in heaven. Jesus uses the word “treasure” to capture the fact that that we all live in pursuit of what we’ve named or deemed important. It really comes down to this: parenting is either a thing of the highest treasure to you, and that’s demonstrated in your choices, words, and actions every day, or it’s not.

Grace

There is nothing more important in parenting than to understand what God has given you in His Son, Jesus Christ. Understanding His grace will change you, and as it changes you, it will change the way you relate to and parent your child. A great way to understand grace is through this principle: God never calls you to a task without giving you what you need to do it. He never sends you without going with you. Grace reaches you in your darkest parenting moments. It touches you when you feel like you’re at the end of your wisdom. Grace reaches you when your child is throwing a tantrum, or being hard-headed or hearted. It even touches you in moments of deep parental regret. God doesn’t expect you to be perfect in your parenting. In fact, He knows you won’t be. He isn’t working so your parenting will be free from struggle. He calls you to do the impossible so that in your search for help, you would find more than help – you would find Him.

Character

Building good character in your child’s life is a key part of parenting. A great way to understand character is through this principle: Not all the wrong your children do is a direct rebellion to authority; much of the wrong is the result of a lack of character. You will miss God-given opportunities again and again if you don’t understand this. Much of our struggle as parents is rooted in the fact that God is still working, with the passion of transforming grace, to mold new character in our hearts. If we didn’t have grace, we’d be left with dysfunction and coldness in our hearts. When you take the time to confess that when it comes to character problems, you are more like your children than not, then you deal with situations with character problems with patience, kindness and grace.

Law

Our children are born with the desperate need for God’s law, but you cannot ask the law to do what only grace can accomplish. Think about law through the words of the apostle Paul: “What shall we then say that the law is sin? By no means! Yet I it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet’” (Romans 7:7). Our children come into the world not knowing what is true or what is false, what is good and what is bad, or what is right and what is wrong. They need the grace of wisdom that God’s law alone can give. God’s law is the ultimate human measuring system. Because of this, it’s good for our children to be exposed to it.

False Gods

The issue of worship is one of the most important things every parent needs to understand about the children that God has called them to parent. Remember, you are parenting a worshiper, so it’s important that what rules your child’s heart will control his behavior. There are three key questions parents need to ask themselves: First, why do my children think the way they do? Second, how does change take place in children’s hearts and lives? Third, how can I be a tool for change in the hearts and lives of my children? The answer to these three questions is found in one single word: worship. Everything your child does is rooted in worship so it’s important that their worship is focused on God, not false gods.